Color cues

by Tresa Erickson, MultiAd
You recently got engaged, and the excitement is brewing. You can’t wait to start the wedding planning. One of the first decisions you’ll face is selecting a color palette. There are so many shades to choose from. How do you decide?

While some brides have no trouble selecting a color palette, others struggle with it. The good news is that there are many facets from which you may take your color cues, starting with your color faves. What colors are you drawn to? Gold? Orange? Red? If you love red and can’t picture yourself getting married without it, then you have already won half the battle. All you need to do now is select one or two more colors, and you will have your palette. If the red is rather intense, you might opt for some neutrals like white, silver, black or gray.

Don’t have a favorite color? No problem. Look to your choices in apparel for your color cues. Start shopping for bridesmaid dresses, and once you select a style and color, take your cues from it. If the dresses are purple, you’ll want to make sure you work in some shade of purple into your palette. The same goes with the tuxes. If the groom has chosen gray tuxes, then you’ll want to make sure gray is either part of your palette or goes well with it.

Flowers also provide important color cues. What flowers are in season and what are you hoping to incorporate into your wedding? If you have your eye on a lot of pale pink blooms, then you will definitely want to work that color into your palette, or at the very least, choose a complementary palette.

Location and season can also provide color cues. Check out the venues you have selected for the ceremony and the reception. Do any of the colors there appeal to you? If you are getting married in a gazebo surrounded by yellow tulips, perhaps a cream palette with accents of maize and gold would work well. Season can also make a difference. Winter colors differ dramatically from summer colors. Maroon and silver might serve a November wedding well, but not a May wedding.

Still having trouble selecting a color palette? Consider current trends. A couple rounds of shopping should clue you in to these. Check out any supplies you might already have on hand, such as some tablecloths you borrowed from a friend who just got married. Think about all of the items you have selected thus far from the wedding dress to the wedding cake. If you’ve got a lot of ivory and cream going on, you might want to select a color that pops.

Keep in mind that just because you select a color palette early on doesn’t mean it will work. Be willing to make some changes the deeper you get into the planning. That pale green you chose for your accent color might turn into forest green once you select the invitations. Light green lettering doesn’t show up nearly as well on crisp, white paper as dark green does. Whether you choose the color palette or let it choose you, be open to change. You never know. That burgundy you’re hoping for might serve your April wedding better as fuschia.